Department for Transport

Cycling and Walking: Finance

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the over £1 billion of Government funding for local authorities to support cycling and walking from 2017–22 has been spent; which local authorities received funding; and in which years.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: On 7 February 2020, the Department published a detailed breakdown of annual investment in cycling and walking from 2016/17 to 2018/19 alongside the first report on progress made towards delivering the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). This included information on how much funding each local authority received over that period for active travel schemes.The Department will publish a further report to Parliament shortly which will include a breakdown of annual investment in cycling and walking over 2019/20 and 2020/21 from a wide range of funding sources. It will also make an announcement shortly on the capital funding that was allocated to local authorities in 2021/22.Copies of the previous report to Parliament and funding breakdowns by local authority covering the years up to 2018/19 are available in the House Libraries.A summary of the capital funding provided to each local authority in 2020/21 under the Active Travel Fund is set out in table 1 attached. A summary of the revenue funding provided to each local authority in 2021/22 under the Capability Fund is set out in Table 2 attached.Table 1 (docx, 19.4KB)Table 2 (docx, 17.8KB)

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Housing: Insulation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop a long-term strategy for improving home insulation.

Lord Callanan: The Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy sets out our long-term strategy to improve home insulation.

National Grid

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the time taken for energy projects to be connected to the electricity grid.

Lord Callanan: The Government has committed in the British Energy Security Strategy to working closely with Ofgem – the independent regulator - to speed up connections and cut down on the time it takes for new energy projects to be connected to the grid.

Housing: Insulation

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) grants, and (2) subsidies, they are planning to introduce, if any, to improve the insulation of homes.

Lord Callanan: The Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy sets out our plans to transform heat and buildings over the next decade. This includes a continuation of local authority delivery through increased funding for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) (investing a further £800 million over 2022/23 to 2024/25, which is planned to be open to all registered providers of social housing) and HUG (investing £950 million over 2022/23 to 2024/25). Both schemes aim to improve the energy performance of low-income households, support low carbon heat installations, help to reduce fuel poverty and build the green retrofitting sector to benefit all homeowners. In addition, the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is an obligation the Government has placed on the larger energy suppliers to make energy-efficiency upgrades to low-income homes throughout Britain. We have committed to extending ECO from 2022 to 2026, boosting its value to £1 billion a year. Meanwhile, the Government has removed VAT on energy-saving measures such as insulation to help householders with the cost of making their homes more energy efficient. In addition to this, the Government has removed VAT on energy-saving measures such as insulation to help householders with the cost of making their homes more energy efficient.

Waste Heat Recovery: Industry

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the capture of waste heat from British industry to alleviate rising energy costs.

Lord Callanan: The £315 million Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) supports a wide range of projects, including waste heat recovery, at industrial sites with high energy use across the UK. The IETF has supported a number of these projects thus far, one such example is the recovery project undertaken by GSK Ltd in County Durham, which includes the installation of a heat pump to recover waste heat from site compressors and displace heat demand on natural gas boilers. The Fund is currently open for applications and will have a further two application rounds this year.

Department of Health and Social Care

Health and Social Services: Staff

Lord Hain: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of reports that more than a million health and care staff will be needed in order to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lord Kamall: The Department will support the National Health Service to address the impacts of the pandemic by supporting and increasing the workforce. The monthly workforce statistics for January 2022 show that there are more than 1.2 million full time equivalent staff working in the NHS. Since January 2021, there are over 20,700 more professionally qualified clinical staff working in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups, including over 4,200 additional doctors and 12,100 nurses. We are currently on schedule to deliver 50,000 more nurses and provide a sustainable long-term supply in future. We have established a programme to improve retention and support return to practice, invest in and diversify the training pipeline and ethically recruit internationally. We have offered non-repayable grants of at least £5,000 per academic year to eligible students studying pre-registration programmes in nursing and midwifery and allied health professions. A further £3,000 is available to students with child dependents and those studying specialist subjects. At the end of the 2021 recruitment cycle, there are over 57,000 applications for nursing and midwifery courses – an increase of 21% compared to 2020. Over 30,000 nurses and midwives accepted places to study nursing and midwifery in 2021 and there are currently more than 72,000 people training to be nurses, approximately 9,000 midwifery trainees and 30,000 trainees for the allied health professions. We have also funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places each year for domestic students and opened five new medical schools. In response to the pandemic, the Government temporarily lifted the cap on medical and dental school places for students who had completed A levels in 2020 and 2021. We are also investing in workforce skills, wellbeing and career development to help address the barriers to people taking up work in adult social care and make adult social care a more attractive offer. We have committed at least £500 million to develop and support the adult social care workforce, including training places and initiatives to improve wellbeing.

Prescription Drugs

Baroness Rawlings: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many drugs which have received regulatory approval since January 2019 are only available through the NHS and cannot be prescribed by private physicians.

Lord Kamall: All authorised medicines and vaccines regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) can be prescribed by a prescribing clinician as a private prescription. However, the decision to place a medicine or vaccine on the private market is a matter for the individual manufacturer. Information on drugs which have received the MHRA’s approval and solely available through the National Health Service is not held centrally.

Department for Education

Physical Education

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the quality of physical education at schools; and how they intend to improve the provision of teacher training courses for those teaching sport and PE at Primary School level.

Baroness Barran: The department continues to work closely with schools and stakeholders to remain abreast of developments in the provision of physical education (PE) in schools. In March 2022, Ofsted published a research review into PE. Ofsted will use this understanding of subject quality to examine how PE is taught in England’s schools. Ofsted will then publish a subject report to share its findings.In October 2021, the government announced nearly £30 million a year towards improving the teaching of PE at primary school and opening school sport facilities in England.A series of approaches are currently being considered as to how the department can bring together the evidence on what constitutes good PE, how this can be practically delivered, and how to support schools to identify and take the steps they need to make their provision as good as it can be. Further information on this will be published as part of the update to the school sport and activity action plan.

Young People: Exercise

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are seeking to make provision for activities for young people to be engaged in physical activity during the 2022 summer holiday period; and if so, what are their plans.

Baroness Barran: This year, the government is investing over £200 million in its holiday activities and food (HAF) programme.All 152 local authorities in England are delivering the programme in the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays. The HAF provides heathy meals, enriching activities, and free childcare places to children from low-income families. This benefits their heath, wellbeing and learning.The holiday clubs on this programme must provide physical activities daily. Children take part in moderate to vigorous activities for up to 60 minutes at each session.The department is also exploring a summer activity challenge to provide more opportunities for children to be physically active during the summer holidays.

Private Education: Sports

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to engage with independentschools to extend the use of their sport and recreation facilities with local communities to demonstrate that they are creating dual use and public benefit.

Baroness Barran: The department continues to encourage new partnerships to form between independent and state-funded schools. Whilst partnerships can cover a wide range of activities, many independent schools collaborate with local state schools and their communities by hosting joint events or sharing facilities. The 2020 Census by the Independent Schools Council (ISC), covering the period immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic, found that 87% of its member schools were involved in partnerships with local state schools. 30% of these reported sharing sports fields, 28% swimming pools, and 22% a concert hall or theatre.As we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the department encourages more schools to experience the opportunities of working in partnership in areas including, but not limited to, sharing facilities. For example, across teacher and curriculum development, governance and leadership, and other targeted forms of school improvement.The department’s joint understanding with the ISC is designed to expand the participation of independent schools across other areas which help to demonstrate that sector’s commitment to its local communities, such as by encouraging schools to offer support targeted at children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The department welcomes the ISC’s efforts to increase participation, alongside charities such as the Royal National Children's SpringBoard Foundation and the School Partnerships Alliance. The department will continue to work together with these organisations to ensure that even more children benefit, irrespective of their backgrounds or the schools they attend.

Ofsted: Staff

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Ofsted inspectors are (1) headteachers, (2) former headteachers, (3) senior leaders in schools, and (4) former senior leaders in schools; and what percentage of all inspectors each group makes up.

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the (1) number, and (2) percentage, of Ofsted inspectors who are (a) current, and (b) former, headteachers has changed in each year since 2010.

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the (1) number, and (2) percentage, of Ofsted inspectors who are (a) current, and (b) former, school senior leaders has changed in each year since 2010.

Baroness Barran: These are matters for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the noble Lord directly and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Primary Education: Free School Meals

Baroness Wilcox of Newport: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have undertaken any (1) engagement, or (2) analysis, of the impact of a free school meals programme for all primary school pupils.

Baroness Barran: The provision of free school meals to children from out-of-work or low income families is of the utmost importance to this government.Under the benefits-related criteria, the department provides a free healthy meal to around 1.7 million children. This ensures they are well nourished and can concentrate, learn, and achieve in the classroom.The department spends around £600 million per year to ensure an additional 1.3 million infants enjoy a free, healthy, and nutritious meal at lunchtime, following the introduction of the universal infant free school meal (UIFSM) policy in 2014.Under this government, eligibility for free school meals has been extended several times to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. This includes the introduction of UIFSM and further education free meals.We think it is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work or on the lowest incomes. We do not have any plans to extend universal provision. but we will continue to keep all free school meal eligibility under review, to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.The department is also permanently extending free school meal eligibility to children from all groups with no recourse to public funds. This will come into effect for the start of the 2022 academic year summer term.

Training: Young People

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people under 25 have completed Skills Boot Camps since they have been available; and, of those people, what percentage have gone on to get jobs.

Baroness Barran: Skills Bootcamps are very popular and there is a high demand for places. The department has now published outcome data from wave 1 of Skills Bootcamps, which was delivered in six areas in England between September 2020 and 31 March 2021. This data shows that over 2,000 participants completed a Skills Bootcamp in this initial stage of the programme.At least 54% of individuals who completed a Skills Bootcamp in wave 1 of the programme achieved a positive outcome as a result. A positive outcome is defined as a new full or part time job or apprenticeship, a new role or increased responsibilities with their current employer or, for the self-employed, access to new opportunities. Data collected as part of the evaluation of these Skills Bootcamps suggests that 22% of participants were aged 19-25.Since the initial rollout of the programme, the department have been expanding Skills Bootcamps so that more adults can get the skills they need for good jobs. This includes an estimated 16,000 training places in the current wave 2 of the programme, backed by a £43 million investment in the 2021/2022 financial year. We are investing an additional £550 million across the 2022/2025 financial years, as announced in the Autumn Budget, including an investment of up to £150 million in this financial year for delivery of wave 3 of Skills Bootcamps.The department has commissioned process and impact evaluations for waves 2 and 3 of Skills Bootcamps, which will provide further evidence and learning to inform future delivery. The reports generated as a result of these evaluations will be available in due course.

Schools: Air Pollution

Baroness Wilcox of Newport: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to make changes to (1) standards, or (2) guidance, for the (a) construction, and (b) specification, of new school buildings, in respect of either (i) classroom ventilation, or (ii) air purification, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baroness Barran: Schools should always create a healthy indoor environment for occupants, this includes keeping spaces ventilated to reduce the concentration of pathogens in the air, such as COVID-19. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the department have emphasised the importance of ventilation and provided guidance to settings on ventilation requirements.In 2018, the department published Building Bulletin 100, guidance for school design on ventilation, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality. This includes the World Health Organisation’s air quality guidelines and Air Quality Standards Regulation 2010 for indoor air quality. The full publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-100-design-for-fire-safety-in-schools.Furthermore, the department sets environmental standards for centrally delivered new schools and sets a minimum specification for ventilation to address healthy indoor air quality.The current version was updated recently and published in November 2021. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/output-specification-generic-design-brief-and-technical-annexes.

Schools: Carbon Dioxide

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their guidance to keep windows in classrooms open to improve ventilation, what assessment they have made of (1) the amount of extra carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere because of higher energy use in all schools, and (2) the average increase in carbon dioxide emissions in (a) primary schools, and (b) secondary schools.

Baroness Barran: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the department has provided guidance to settings on how to manage ventilation, in addition to providing over 360,000 CO2 monitors to state-funded education providers in England. As well as helping to identify areas that are poorly ventilated, CO2 monitors can be useful to help education providers balance good ventilation with keeping classrooms warm. Ensuring adequate ventilation does not need to be at the expense of keeping classrooms warm. Education providers do not need to keep windows fully open at all times. Opening windows regularly for 10 minutes, or a small amount continuously, can still improve ventilation substantially. The department’s guidance has also been clear that when CO2 monitors indicate good ventilation, there is no need to open additional windows. The guidance can be found in full here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-ventilation-of-indoor-spaces-to-stop-the-spread-of-coronavirus. Maintaining adequate ventilation remains the responsibility of individual education providers. The department does not hold the information requested on the increase in energy usage or carbon emissions due to opening windows. This will vary according to a range of factors, including how individual education providers manage ventilation in their estate.

Schools: Energy

Baroness Wilcox of Newport: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, in kWh, of the total amount of higher energy consumption in schools as a result of their advice to keep windows in classrooms open as a form of ventilation; and what estimate they have made of the average extra consumption for each (1) primary school, and (2) secondary school.

Baroness Wilcox of Newport: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, in pounds, of the total cost of the higher energy use in schools as a result of following their advice to keep windows in classrooms open as a form of ventilation; and what estimate they have made of the average extra cost for each (1) primary school, and (2) secondary school.

Baroness Barran: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has provided schools with guidance on how to manage ventilation, in addition to providing over 360,000 CO2 monitors to state-funded education providers in England. As well as helping to identify areas that are poorly ventilated, CO2 monitors can be useful to help schools balance good ventilation with keeping classrooms warm.Ensuring adequate ventilation does not need to be at the expense of keeping classrooms warm. Schools do not need to keep windows fully open at all times. Opening windows regularly for 10 minutes, or a small amount continuously can still improve ventilation substantially. The department's guidance has also been clear that when CO2 monitors indicate good ventilation, there is no need to open additional windows.Maintaining adequate ventilation remains the responsibility of individual providers. The department does not hold the information requested on the increase in energy usage or costs due to opening windows, as this will vary according to a range of factors including how individual schools manage ventilation in their estate.The department recognises that schools will be facing cost pressures in the coming months, particularly due to the increase in energy prices. The department is looking carefully at how this will impact schools. All schools can access a range of school resource management tools to help them get the best value from their resources, including two Schools Commercial Team recommended deals for energy costs and ancillary services relating to energy, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-a-dfe-approved-framework-for-your-school.

Carers

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by KinshipOut of the shadows: A vision for kinship care in England, published on 24 March; and what steps they are taking to ensure kinship carers can access (1) information, (2) advice, and (3) support.

Baroness Barran: The March 2022 ‘Out of the Shadows: A vision for kinship care in England’ report offers an insightful analysis of the challenges kinship carers face.Statutory guidance issued under the Children Act 1989 places legal duties on local authorities to provide support to kinship carers. The guidance sets out a framework for the provision of support to family and friends’ carers, whatever the legal status of the children they are caring for.All local authorities in England are required to have a published family and friends’ policy. It should be designed to ensure children receive the support they and their carers need to keep them safe and well. Local family and friends’ policies should also support the promotion of good information about the full range of services for children, young people, and families in the area. It should highlight the availability of advice from independent organisations.In 2021, the department provided £1 million funding for one year to the charity Kinship to deliver more high-quality peer support groups for kinship carers across the country. Through this work, the department will offer more support, more access to expert advice and information, and more opportunities for kinship carers to connect with each other.The department also continues to fund the Family Rights Group’s family and friends helpline to provide free information and advice to kinship carers in need of legal and practical support.The independent review of children’s social care led by Josh MacAlister has had a key focus on kinship care. The government looks forward to considering any recommendations it makes when the report publishes in the spring.

Schools: Air Pollution

Baroness Wilcox of Newport: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on their trial in Bradford of air purification technology suitable for classroom contexts.

Baroness Barran: The study of air cleaning units in primary schools, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, is run by the class-ACT (air cleaning technology) consortium and led by the Centre for Applied Educational Research at the University of Leeds. The trial has provided valuable informal interim feedback on the practicalities of introducing ACT in schools. These interim findings have been published by the Class-ACT consortium as a 10-step guide for schools, published in the Times Educational Supplement on 27 January. This article can be found here: https://www.tes.com/magazine/analysis/general/covid-schools-ventilation-10-step-guide-using-air-cleaning-units. The study of air cleaning technologies is still ongoing, findings are planned to be published in late 2022.

Special Educational Needs: Supplementary Grants

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of special schools accessing the School Supplementary Grant.

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking, if any, against Local Authorities that withhold part of the Schools Supplementary Grant to bring down their council's deficit.

Baroness Barran: Special schools and academies are funded from the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG). In December 2021, we increased local authorities’ DSG to allocate an additional £325 million for the 2022/23 financial year. This was the amount of supplementary high needs funding the department was able to add to local authorities’ allocations following the autumn 2021 Spending Review.The department allocated this supplementary funding as closely as possible to what would have been allocated had we been able to distribute it through the national funding formula (NFF). Local authorities are, therefore, able to provide their schools with increases as part of the top-up funding paid from their high needs budgets.The department received some feedback from schools that local authorities have not been passing on this increase in funding in full. We do not prescribe in detail how local authorities allocate their top-up funding and are not, therefore, taking action against local authorities solely on the grounds that they are using the supplementary high needs funding to bring down their DSG deficit. Nevertheless, the department expects all local authorities to ensure that they are fulfilling their statutory duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 to provide funding for schools, where that is needed to secure provision and support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We will keep the regulations and guidance governing how local authorities allocate their high needs budgets under review.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

United Nations: Reform

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for reform of the UN.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK actively supports UN Reform, including UN Secretary-General Guterres's vision in Our Common Agenda for a UN that promotes agility, integration and cohesion across the system. We also support reform of the UN Security Council to make it more representative and better reflect the realities of the Twenty-First Century.

Ukraine: Armenia

Lord Hussain: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of Armenia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government has seen no evidence of the involvement of Armenia in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Armenia: Azerbaijan

Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the attempt to normalise relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia based on the five principles Azerbaijan recently offered to Armenia; and the role any non-cooperation from Armenia may have played in hindering such normalisation.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government welcomes the steps that Armenia and Azerbaijan are taking to normalise relations following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and is monitoring developments closely. In his meetings with the Azerbaijani and Armenian Ambassadors, on 29 and 31 March respectively, the Minister for Europe and North America, the Rt Hon. James Cleverly MP, reinforced the need for substantive negotiations without preconditions to secure a sustainable and peaceful settlement to the conflict. The UK Government will continue to encourage the parties to engage in negotiations to secure stability and security for region.

Armenia: Azerbaijan

Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions, if any, the Foreign Secretary has had with her Armenian counterpart concerning the release of data about Azerbaijanis who went missing during hostilities in the 1990s.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government continues to urge the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to settle all outstanding matters related to the conflict, including the return of the remains of the deceased from the 1990s and the return of prisoners of war from the most recent conflict. This was most recently raised by the Minister for Europe and North America, the Rt Hon. James Cleverly MP, in calls with the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers on 1 and 4 March respectively.

Ukraine: Wheat

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the Ukrainian agricultural sector to export wheat.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As per the Prime Minister's statement of 9 April, the UK has responded to the request of the Ukrainian government by liberalising all tariffs on imports from Ukraine and providing customs easements, as part of our commitment to the country's economic stability.

Afghanistan: Females

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure (1) girls' education in Afghanistan, and (2) the human rights of women in that country.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government has made clear its condemnation of the Taliban's 23 March decision not to re-open girls secondary schools, including through statements from the G7+, female foreign ministers and the UN Security Council. We continue to monitor the Taliban's actions and to raise the rights of women and girls in our political engagement with the Taliban, including pressing them to ensure full and equal access to education for all. Ministers and officials regularly meet Afghan women; on 24 March I [Lord Ahmad] met a diverse group of Afghan women leaders.On 31 March the UK co-hosted a humanitarian pledging conference with the UN, Qatar and Germany which raised over $2.4 billion for the UN's humanitarian appeal. The Foreign Secretary announced £286 million of aid for Afghanistan for this financial year. We are committed that at least 50% of those we reach with our aid should be women and girls. Our humanitarian programmes will provide assistance to the most vulnerable. We are funding child protection support and supporting access to gender-based violence services.

North Korea: Human Rights

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the BBC report Beatings and Forced Abortions, Life in a North Korea Prison, published on 28 March, which outlined multiple allegations of rape, forced abortions, and other forms of sexual assault within North Korea’s penal system.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK remains deeply concerned by the appalling human rights situation in North Korea, including within prison camps. We are reviewing the BBC report's findings and recommendations and considering how the UK Government can continue to address the appalling human rights situation in the DPRK.We regularly raise our concerns about human rights violations directly with the DPRK authorities and in international fora. On 1 April 2022, the UK co-sponsored the resolution adopted at the Human Rights Council which seeks to shine a spotlight on the DPRK's human rights record.In July 2020, the UK designated two DPRK entities through the Global Human Rights (GHR) sanctions regime, including the Ministry of State Security Bureau 7 and Ministry of People's Security Correctional Bureau, which together are responsible for the country's notorious prison camp system.

North Korea: Human Rights

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to hold to account the 597 perpetrators of human rights violations that are identified in the report by Korea Future The North Korean Prison Database, published on 28 March.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the findings in the report by Korea FutureThe North Korean Prison Database, published on 28 March; and what steps they are taking to hold accountable those who oversee the persecution of religious minorities, including Christians, in North Korea.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is deeply concerned by reports, including from Korea Future Initiative, which tell of serious human rights violations in DPRK, including the specific persecution of those who are caught practising religion. We are reviewing the Report's findings and recommendations and considering how the UK Government can continue to address the appalling human rights situation in the DPRK.The UK co-sponsored the resolution adopted at the Human Rights Council on 1 April 2022 which seeks to shine a spotlight on the DPRK's human rights record.In July 2020, the UK designated two DPRK entities through the Global Human Rights (GHR) sanctions regime, including the Ministry of State Security Bureau 7 and Ministry of People's Security Correctional Bureau, which together are responsible for the country's notorious prison camp system.The UK continues to urge improvements in the DPRK human rights situation, and regularly raises these concerns, including on prison camps, in international fora and directly with the DPRK authorities.

Ministry of Defence

Military Operations: Merchant Shipping

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Goldie on 5 April (HL7240), whether there are enough UK merchant sailors to man the merchant ships assessed necessary to conduct overseas operations, in addition to the Royal Fleet Auxiliaries.

Baroness Goldie: In addition to Royal Fleet Auxiliaries, there are sufficient UK seafarers currently resourced by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to conduct overseas operations to meet current operational commitments. This arrangement includes four Roll-on Roll-Off vessels which are operated by Foreland Shipping Limited under an MOD contract. During periods of conflict which demand resource above current MOD capacity, the UK Merchant fleet is used to meet this requirement. The MOD is unable to comment on the size and employment status of UK seafarers working outside the MOD as this is the responsibility of the Maritime Coastguard Agency, which is an executive agency of the Department of Transport.

Challenger Tanks: Engines

Lord Richards of Herstmonceux: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in rationalising the variants of the CV12 power packsfitted to the various marks and variants of the Challenger 2 tank, including the armoured engineer vehicles.

Baroness Goldie: Overall powerpack commonality can be only achieved between Challenger 2, Challenger 3 and the Challenger Armoured Recovery and Repair Vehicle following the identification of a replacement refrigerant to fill the crew temperature control system to comply with the Montreal protocol. A post-design services task has been placed on contract with Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land for this work.

Challenger Tanks: Testing

Lord Richards of Herstmonceux: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Challenger 3 tank has been trialled by (1) theArmoured Trials and Development Unit at Bovington, or (2) an equivalent establishment; and if so, (a) what track mileage has been covered so far, and (b) with what type of power pack.

Baroness Goldie: The Challenger 3 programme remains in the early stages of Demonstration and Manufacture, with detailed design work ongoing prior to Critical Design Review. The assembly of initial prototypes will follow along with a detailed trials programme.

Challenger Tanks: Engines

Lord Richards of Herstmonceux: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the power pack fitted to the new Challenger 3 is (1) a contemporary CV12 engine similar to a 5A, or (2) a CV12 with common rail fuel injection and new engine management system, or (3) something else; and if it is something else, what is its specification.

Lord Richards of Herstmonceux: To ask Her Majesty's Government what variants of CV12 power packs are fitted to (1) the Challenger 2 tank, (2) the Challenger Armoured Recovery and Repair Vehicle (CHARRV), and (3) the Trojan armoured engineer tank.

Baroness Goldie: The variants of the CV12 powerpacks fitted to the Challenger base vehicle family are:  VehiclePowerpackChallenger 2CV12-6AChallenger 3CV12-9AChallenger Armoured Recovery and Repair Vehicle (CRARRV)CV12-5C/6CTITAN/TROJANCV12-8A A small number of CRARRV vehicles are currently fitted with CV12-5C powerpacks that will be replaced with CV12-6C powerpacks on failure or when the vehicle is attending base workshop, whichever comes first.

Department for Work and Pensions

Business: Sick Leave

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide support for businesses, in particular small businesses, to cope with (1) the rise in statutory sick pay, and (2) staff isolating with COVID-19; and whether such support will include a permanent sick pay rebate.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: Since March 2020, the Government has provided unprecedented direct support for the economy throughout the pandemic. This has included the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate scheme which was introduced as a temporary measure to support small and medium sized businesses with the increased cost of sick pay related to coronavirus. This support has helped to safeguard jobs, businesses and public services in every region and nation of the UK from COVID-19 and has helped to mitigate the threat to macroeconomic stability. As we move to the next phase of managing COVID-19 like other respiratory illnesses, it is right that exceptional support put in place to help businesses with the impact of a major wave of infection comes to an end as planned.

Local Housing Allowance

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of renters unable to cover rents as a result of the freezing of the Local Housing Allowance rate.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates determine the maximum housing support for Housing Benefit and Universal Credit claimants in the private rented sector. LHA rates are not intended to meet all rents in all areas. In April 2020 we increased LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local rents, costing nearly £1 billion and providing 1.5 million claimants with £600 more in housing support, on average over 2020-21, than they would have otherwise received. LHA rates have been maintained at their increased levels in 2021-22 and will remain at those levels for 2022-23, so that everyone who benefitted from the increase will continue to do so. A claimant’s ability to cover their rental costs will be unique to the individual. For those who require additional help with housing costs Discretionary Housing Payments are available from local authorities (LAs). Since 2011 we have provided almost £1.5 billion to LAs to help support people who face a shortfall in meeting their rental housing costs.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Land

Lord Inglewood: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Benyon on 6 April (HL7283), what plans they have, if any, to redress the strategic balance between food production, environmental protection and other priorities within rural land use policy in response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Lord Benyon: Under the Agriculture Act 2020, we have a legal duty to assess the impact of all our schemes, including our new environmental land management schemes, on food production. The first Food Security Report was published in December 2021. The Government will continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine and respond appropriately.

Home Office

Counter-terrorism

Baroness Morgan of Cotes: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many men (1) under the age of 18, and (2) aged 18 and above, referred to the Prevent programme held misogynistic beliefs, in each of the last five years.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We do not record misogynistic views routinely, and therefore we are unable to analyse Counter-Terrorism Policing referral and Home Office Channel data to draw this outInvoluntary celibate (Incel) ideologies, which are commonly linked with misogyny, make up a small fraction of Prevent referrals. Because there are so few referrals, they are subsumed into the 'Other' category in the annual Prevent statistics – which covers numerous other ideologies and represents 3% of referrals altogether. Whilst the requested information is not available, some information on individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent programme, including age, gender, and type of concern, is available publicly, which can be found on the Gov.uk website. Data is released annually, and data for 2020/2021 can be found here: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, England and Wales, April 2020 to March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Refugees: Afghanistan

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government when Afghan refugees who have been placed in unsuitable accommodation in hotels will be rehoused and properly settled in the UK.

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) notice, and (2) information, is being given to Afghan refugees and their relatives when a family is moved to another address.

Lord Harrington of Watford: The UK Government undertook the biggest and fastest emergency evacuation in recent history, helping over 15,000 people to safety from Afghanistan. Due to the scale and pace of the evacuation we have had to use hotels as a temporary measure.We do not want to keep people in temporary accommodation for any longer than is absolutely necessary. We have moved – or are in the process of moving - over 6,000 people into homes since June 2021. There is a huge effort underway to support the families into permanent homes as soon as we can so they can settle and rebuild their lives, and to ensure those still temporarily accommodated in hotels are given the best start to their life in the UK.The length of time that a family will remain in bridging hotels is dependent on a number of factors including the availability of appropriate housing. We are working at pace across government and with over three hundred Local Authority partners to allocate the right families into the right accommodation to ensure that their integration into their new communities in the UK is as smooth as possible.Families are given seven days’ notice of their move to settled accommodation. During this time, they can prepare for their move and discuss any concerns with their Home Office Liaison Officer. They are provided with the contact details of their new local authority, so that they can talk to the people who will be supporting them with their move and providing them with long term assistance with integration.

Visas: Refugees

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government why Ukrainian refugees are able to have their visa biometrics taken upon entry to the UK but Afghan refugees are not; and what steps they are taking to relax this rule for refugees from Afghanistan.

Lord Harrington of Watford: Biometrics, in the form of a facial image and fingerprints, underpin the UK’s immigration system to support identity assurance and suitability checks on foreign nationals who are subject to immigration control. They enable us to conduct comprehensive checks to prevent leave being granted to those who pose a threat to national security or are likely to breach our laws. Our approach in terms of both Afghanistan and Ukraine is based on advice relating to national security we have received.Eligible Ukrainians with valid international Ukrainian passports who apply to the Ukraine Family Scheme, or the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, do not currently need to go to a Visa Application Centre (VAC) to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.Vital security checks will continue on all cases. This decision was made exceptionally as a temporary arrangement to ensure VACs across Europe could focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without valid passports. It will be kept under review if the security situation changes and it becomes necessary to make further changes to protect the people of the UK.We remain committed to supporting Afghan nationals through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme to come to the UK, as set out in the Afghanistan resettlement and immigration policy statement published on 13 September 2021. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement

Crimes of Violence

Lord Carlile of Berriew: To ask Her Majesty's Government, how many cases were reported to the police in (1) England, and (2) Wales, involving assaults and sexual offences by (a) trans individuals, and (b) police officers, in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, and (iii) 2021.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office does not hold information on the number of assaults or sexual offences reported to the police where the suspect was a transgender individual or a police officer.

Police: Offenders

Lord Carlile of Berriew: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many police officers with criminal records for indictable offences are currently serving in each of the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, and in the British Transport Police.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office does not hold data on police officers with criminal records for indicatable offences whom are currently serving in the 43 territorial forces in England & Wales and the British Transport Police.In carrying out recruitment of officers and staff, forces must abide by the College of Policing’s statutory code of practice on vetting, which includes further detail on consideration of convictions and cautions. This is further supported by the College’s vetting Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidance, which is reviewed regularly. Decisions on recruitment are made independently, and on a case-by-case basis, by each force.

Home Office: Remote Working

Lord Watts: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 24 March (HL6900), how they are able to manage their functions without information on the number of Home Office staff working from home; and why they do not collect such information.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office employs over 35,000 staff working across several large business areas including UK Border Force, HM Passport Office, UK Visas and Immigration and several other areas. Staff are employed across all parts of the UK as well as countries around the world doing a variety of policy and operational roles.The requirements for workplace attendance are managed at a local level in line with the Home Office Hybrid Working Policy. Under this, all staff are expected to attend the workplace within a framework of between 40%-100% of their contracted hours. Similar to other attendance requirements this is not centrally managed and is co-ordinated through the line management chain.Working from home is part of a suite of flexible working options which are non-contractual and flexible to meet the needs of the business and the individual. Collecting data on who can work from home would serve little purpose as our policy applies to all staff subject to the confines of their role.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Renewable Energy: Planning Permission

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the amount of planning approval needed for renewable projects.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government's 'British energy security strategy' builds on the Prime Minister's 'Ten point plan for a green industrial revolution', and the 'Net zero strategy'. Renewable technologies will play a key role in reaching the UK's ambitious Carbon Budget and Net Zero targets. The strategy sets out a series of changes to the planning system to support the delivery of renewable infrastructure, including offshore and onshore wind and solar.As part of the strategy the Government has committed to cut the time it takes for offshore wind projects to get planning and regulatory consents and secure grid connections. Our goal is to reduce the time it takes to get planning consent from up to four years to one year, from when applications are submitted to final decision.In addition to these changes to offshore wind, for onshore wind, we will consult this year on developing local partnerships for a limited number of supportive communities who wish to host new onshore wind infrastructure in return for benefits, including lower energy bills. The consultation will consider how clear support can be demonstrated by local communities and local authorities.For ground-mounted solar, we have announced that we will consult on amending planning rules to strengthen policy in favour of development on non-protected land, while ensuring communities continue to have a say and environmental protections remain in place. We will publish a consultation on these measures in due course. As part of this we will also gather evidence on the use and suitability of the existing permitted development rights which allow for the installation of solar equipment on and within the curtilages of domestic and non-domestic premises. This will inform any changes that are taken forward.

Islamophobia

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their appointment on 23 July 2019 of an independent expert to advise ona definition of Islamophobia, when they intend to appoint a second independent adviser to work withImam Qari Asim.

Lord Greenhalgh: We will outline our next steps with the review on the Definition of Islamophobia in due course.

Islamophobia

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made with reaching a definition of Islamophobiasince their statement on 23 July 2019 that "there needs to be a formal definition of Islamophobia to help strengthen our efforts against anti-Muslim hatred".

Lord Greenhalgh: This Government remains committed to stamping out anti-Muslim hatred and all forms of religious hate crime. It is unacceptable for anyone to feel unsafe while practicing their religion and we continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Muslim hatred. The adoption of a definition of Islamophobia by the Government remains under consideration.

Islamophobia

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in tackling Islamophobia.

Lord Greenhalgh: This Government has taken strong steps in tackling anti-Muslim hatred in our society. These have included providing TellMAMA with over £4m between 2017 and 2022 to support Muslim victims of hate crime. We have ensured the Protective Security Grant has supported over 84 Mosques to receive enhanced protection measures. Most recently, we have held a roundtable discussion with key stakeholders from the field of countering anti-Muslim hatred to discuss how we can build on this success.